Could one of these Astros win ROY Award?

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Astros have had a strong run recently in the American League Rookie of the Year Award voting, with seven top-five finishers in the last eight years. That includes two winners, shortstop Carlos Correa in 2015 and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez in ‘19, and a second-place finish by pitcher Luis Garcia in ‘21.

Last year, shortstop Jeremy Peña finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting before winning the Most Valuable Player in the AL Championship Series and World Series, which trumped any regular-season honors. The other Astros top-five finishers were pitcher Cristian Javier (third in 2020), first baseman Yuli Gurriel (fourth in ‘17) and reliever Chris Devenski (fourth in ’16).

The Astros have three rookies -- pitchers Hunter Brown and J.P. France and catcher Yainer Diaz -- who could appear on some AL Rookie of the Year ballots this fall, but the competition is stiff.

Astros candidates

Diaz (1.0 bWAR): Diaz didn’t play much in the first half of the year with the Astros carrying three catchers, but his numbers have improved with more playing time. Entering Tuesday, he led AL rookies in slugging percentage (.512), was fifth in batting average (.274), home runs and OPS (.804) and sixth in extra-base hits (30). He also has thrown out 11 runners attempting to steal, which ranked tied for seventh in the AL.

Brown (1.4 bWAR): There was a lot of Rookie of the Year buzz around Brown, the Astros’ former No. 1 prospect, entering the season, and he’s had a solid, though up-and-down, rookie year. He led AL rookie pitchers in innings (123 1/3) and strikeouts (137) entering Tuesday, with a 4.23 ERA.

France (2.4 bWAR): An unexpected entry into the Rookie of the Year fray, France entered Tuesday tied with Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee for the most rookie wins in the AL with nine, to go along with a 2.74 ERA in 103 innings. He’s 7-0 with a 1.85 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in his last eight games (seven starts) and is currently the Astros’ most consistent starter.

League-wide candidates

OF Masataka Yoshida, Boston (1.6 bWAR): If there’s a knock on Yoshida, it’s that he’s 30 years old. Although there are no age limits, some voters may shy away from voting for him because he’s a four-time NPB All-Star and won two Pacific League batting titles in Japan before signing a five-year deal with Boston. He entered Tuesday slashing .300/.357/.468 with 12 homers, 56 RBIs.

3B Josh Jung, Texas (2.4 bWAR): The former first-round pick by the Rangers was perhaps the favorite before he underwent surgery on Aug. 9 to repair a fractured right thumb, winning AL Rookie of the Month honors in April and May. He should return in late September, but if not, his numbers are good enough: He’s slashing .274/.323/.489 with 22 homers and 67 RBIs.

IF Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore (3.5 bWAR): Henderson posted a .621 OPS through the first 13 games of August, which has dinged his overall chances a bit. Still, he’s slashing .237/.322/.459 with 19 homers and 55 RBIs for the team with the best record in the AL and leads all the front-line Rookie of the Year candidates with a 3.5 WAR. He was the June AL Rookie of the Month.

RHP Tanner Bibee, Cleveland (2.7 bWAR): Bibee entered Tuesday tied with France for the most rookie wins in the AL, was second behind Brown in rookies innings pitched (108 2/3) and strikeouts (106). His 2.90 ERA would rank third of any pitcher in the AL if he had enough innings to quality for the league leaders.